Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for black ice detection. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of predicting black ice.
Black Ice is a road hazard condition whereby the road appears wet to the driver, but the road is actually covered in a thin sheet of virtually transparent ice making the pavement appear bare or wet, and in the case of asphalt, black. Given the different expectations a driver has between slipperiness of wet pavement versus ice, drivers oftentimes mistakenly travel over black ice patches at inappropriate speeds resulting in traffic accidents. Thus, the ability to accurately detect and/or predict black ice may allow drivers to adjust their driving speeds or driving behavior to prevent traffic accidents.
Black ice detection systems may employ dedicated sensors in the road communicating with receivers near the road which then send the data to a centralized server and warning infrastructure and/or may only use On Board Dash vehicle data for current measurements, which may be sent to a centralized server infrastructure. Thus, centralized data centers may be used in detecting black ice through an internet connection. Loss of the internet connection may, therefore, disrupt access to centralized data centers during weather that may be associated with black ice conditions. Therefore, black ice detection systems that are dependent on internet connections or communications with back end servers may become inaccessible to drivers during weather conditions in which black ice is likely to occur.